June 29, 2012

Better than a Ghost of a Chance: an interview with Spectral Press' Simon Marshall-Jones

I recently had the good fortune of interviewing Simon Marshall-Jones, the man at the helm of Spectral Press. The small independent publisher has flourished over the course of the last year and it looks to be on track to even bigger and better things. But let's hear it all in Simon's words.

What
was the impetus behind establishing Spectral Press?

It’s
interesting because, before I was handed a couple of chapbooks
published by Nightjar Press (run by Nicholas Royle) at FantasyCon
2010 in Nottingham, UK, I’d never even heard of the format. I’ve
subsequently discovered that they have a long and venerable history,
and that they’re especially popular in the poetry scene, as they’re
an easy way disseminating this form of literature as well as being
inexpensive to produce. I was a book reviewer back then, and I
realised that it was a perfect form for showcasing the writing of
some of the best talents working today. Aside from that, it was also
a good way of starting up a small-press without having access to much
working capital. Over and above that, however, is the fact that I
just love the genre and its myriad possibilities, and this is my way
of giving back what I have taken out of it.

I
also wanted to steer away from the whole
vampire/zombie/werewolf/apocalyptic scenario thing which appears to
have taken over much of horror publishing in the last few years, and
offer something a mite different. Which is why I decided to
concentrate on the ghost story, a form of literature that I feel
deserves to be more in the spotlight. Additionally, in these days of
easy access to digital publishing technology and e-books, I wanted to
remind people that physical books are objects of beauty themselves,
and small objects of desire.

There's
a pretty open adoration for the classic horror of the early 20th
century and even late 19th century. What is it about that time that
draws you in?

For
me, it’s all about effect and atmosphere, as well as reliance on
the reader’s imagination to fill in the blank spots, so to speak. I
feel that with a lot of modern horror, imagination and reader
participation are being squeezed out of the equation, which is why I
have chosen to keep the spirit of late 19th/early
20th
century ghost story literature alive with Spectral. Their appeal for
me, though, is very simple: there’s no reliance on gore and
excessive on-page violence, instead those are suggested artfully
through carefully crafted prose. I feel the same about film – these
days, a lot of it is fed to the viewer on-screen in all its gory
technicolour glory, with nothing left to suggestion. In many ways,
then, I see Victorian/Edwardian ghost literature in the same way as
those old black & white films that used to be shown on late-night
TV. Take a film like Carl Dreier’s classic Vampyr
(1932): it’s frightening because
it’s in monochrome, uses disturbing imagery and has an unsettling
soundtrack. Despite its superficially nonsensical and surreal native,
it’s made even more unsettling by the fact that it still has an
internal logic which only makes sense within its own context, almost
making this
world seem out of kilter by comparison. Mostly, you have to work at
constructing your own narrative out of the disjointed scenes
presented, an aspect of both filmmaking and literature that seems to
fallen by the wayside in the mainstream. When it comes to the written
word, reintroducing those elements is one of the principal aims of
Spectral.

Spectral
Press focuses on shorter works with its chapbooks, rather than novel
length fiction. Are chapbooks better suited to the more classical
style of horror, or is there another reason behind highlighting those
works?

One
of the reasons why I chose chapbooks as my initial foray into the
world of small-press is that I consider them to be perfect little
arenas in which to showcase the work of some of the best writing
talents out there. In any case, in terms of the ghost story, short
stories and novellas seem to work far more effectively in the shorter
form than in anything longer, in my opinion. Sustaining tension and
atmosphere is best achieved by containing the narrative within a
short burst, although this doesn’t mean that longer works can’t
achieve the same effect. I just find that, when it comes to this form
of literature, short stories work better in terms of impact for me –
other people will find their approach to such things very different.

Having
said all that, the novellas that I have recently launched have a
broader remit within what I would call ‘traditional’ definitions
of horror, but simultaneously trying not to tread over ground already
covered. I’ve always liked stories which look at ideas and themes
from new angles, or ones which introduce original facets to familiar
stories. But the bedrock upon which it’s all based is highquality
– not just in terms of story, but presentation and all the other
aspects of publishing as well.

Each
story Spectral Press releases as a limited edition appears to sell
out quite handily. How pleased have you been with the reception of
each publication? And do you intend to stay focused on the limited
editions or can readers expect wider releases in the future?

I’ve
been more than pleased with the critical and reader reception, in
fact, I would say it has exceeded my wildest expectations. After
having run a record label (FracturedSpecesRecords)
for two years, where sales were sluggish at best, the runaway success
of Spectral has come as a bit of a surprise and has taken me
completely aback. I learnt a lot of things from the record label,
however, which I’ve applied to the running of Spectral. One of the
worst things I did with FSR was to rush things – I’ve been a lot
more cautious and have been releasing things slowly and very
deliberately, without overstretching myself at any point. That has
definitely worked to my advantage this time.

I
do intend to publish more widely in the future – for instance,
there will be a collection of all the chapbooks (along with new
material, hopefully) either next year or 2014. The novellas I have
started publishing are available as unlimited paperbacks as well as
the limited signed hardbacks and there are still plans to release
them as e-books at some point. Signed limited editions, however, will
remain the mainstay of Spectral for the foreseeable future, but who
knows what the future will bring?

You've
published works from very accomplished authors like Gary Fry and Cate
Gardner. But go back in time for a moment and name an author who you
think would have been an exemplary choice to be published under the
Spectral Press banner.

Gosh
– that’s a difficult one. I can think of at least two, if not
three, writers I would like to pluck from the past and ask to produce
a chapbook story for me: they would be Algernon Blackwood, Arthur
Machen and Robert Aickman. If we’re talking someone from the recent
past, especially one who completely changed my perceptions of the
possibilities of horror as a genre, then it would be Clive Barker.

The
last year has seen five volumes released in your chapbook series,
plus the longer novella from Gary Fry. Is that a pace you hope to
maintain in the ensuing years or is there a change-up in the works?

The
current plan is to keep releasing the quarterly chapbooks until the
end of 2013, after which the frequency will change to one every two
months. As for novellas, I plan to publish two every year. That will
be in addition to the annual Christmas Ghost Story anthology every
December and the Spectral Signature Editions single-author
collections (which will come out once a year, in all
likelihood).

What
has been the biggest preconception shattered or overall revelation
you've discovered with Spectral Press?

Probably
amongst the biggest revelations for me is just how much of a
juggernaut Spectral has become in such a short time. From conception
to the present is a mere twenty months, if that. But that isn’t
down to just luck – it’s also down to sheer hard work and also
knowing what makes a good story. On top of that is ensuring that each
title is carefully edited so that no typo ever reaches print, as well
as ensuring that the story is the best it can be. Plus there’s the
delicate balancing act of keeping Spectral in the public eye without
being over-bearing about it. If there’s one pet-hate I have, it’s
the constant spam of people essentially urging us to ‘BUY MY BOOK!’
– the main purpose of my promotion is to make people aware of the
imprint, the kind of material it publishes, where it can be obtained
and to explore if they so wish.

However,
if we’re talking about shocks, then the biggest would have to be
Spectral Press gaining not one, but TWO, nominations in this year’s
British Fantasy Awards – King
Death
by Paul Finch in the Short Fiction category and Spectral Press itself
in the PS Publishing Independent Press Award. The Awards will be
presented at FantasyCon2012 in September, to be held in Brighton in
the UK

Can
you offer a glimpse of what readers can expect from Spectral Press
through the second half of 2012 and beyond?

Just
about to be released is Volume VI in the series of chapbooks, The
Eyes of Water
by the bestselling author Alison Littlewood, to be followed in
September by Mark West’s What
Gets Left Behind
and then in December David Tallerman’s The
Way of the Leaves,
the story which recently won the Spectral/This Is Horror short story
writing competition. Also in September will be the second in the
Spectral Visions line of longer works, John Llewellyn Probert’s The
Nine Deaths of Dr. Valentine,
an affectionate and blackly humorous (if somewhat gruesome) homage to
the films of Vincent Price. And, of course, there’ll be the first
Christmas Ghost Story Annual in December.

Looking
further afield, there are chapbooks coming from the likes of Paul
Kane, Simon Bestwick, Terry Grimwood and Angela Slatter in 2013, as
well as a novella by Stephen Volk (screenwriter of UK ghost film The
Awakening
and creator of the infamous Ghostwatch
television hoax documentary). In the summer of that year will be the
first of the Spectral Signature Editions single-author collections,
this one being by World Fantasy Award nominee Simon Kurt Unsworth.
The chapbooks’ print run will also be increased to 125 per issue
from Volume IX (March 2013). More exciting still will be a chapbook
story forthcoming from the pen of Peter Atkins, screenwriter of
Hellraiser
II,
III
& IV.
Publication date has yet to be set on that one.

There
are exciting times ahead for Spectral Press – please visit
http://spectralpress.wordpress.com/
and sign up to be kept abreast of the latest developments with the
imprint. You can also purchase 1, 3, and 5 year subscriptions to the
chapbook line, ensuring that you never miss one, considering they
sell out quite fast. You’ll also be able to catch up with the
latest news and reviews, and read about the occasional exciting
competition. Hope to see you there!

Thanks again to Simon for taking part in this interview. As for the rest of you, I encourage you to keep an eye on Spectral Press if you're not already--especially if you have an affinity for ghost stories like I do.